ATOME Resources

Reports

The ATOME legislation review workshop took place at Utrecht University, Netherlands on January 31st and February 1st 2013. The following countries were represented at the workshop by regulatory and law enforcement authorities and opinion leaders or 'champions' among healthcare professionals: Slovakia; Estonia; Serbia; Latvia; Greece; Cyprus; Lithuania; Slovenia; and Hungary. The workshop was attended by approximately 30 delegates, including 11 from the ATOME Consortium.

The first of two ATOME Six-Country Workshops took place in Bucharest, Romania (Thursday, 29th September - Saturday, 1st October 2011). The following countries were represented at this workshop by regulatory and law enforcement authorities and opinion leaders or 'champions' among healthcare professionals: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, Serbia, and Slovenia. The workshop was attended by a total of 27 delegates and 12 representatives of the ATOME consortium.

The second of two ATOME Six-Country Workshops took place in Bucharest, Romania (17th November - 19th November 2011). The following countries were represented at this workshop by regulatory and law enforcement authorities and opinion leaders or 'champions' among healthcare professionals: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary. In addition, representatives from Ukraine observed the workshop. The workshop was attended by a total of 34 delegates and 11 representatives of the ATOME consortium.

This report describes the methodology and the results of the quick scan of legislations undertaken undertaken by our partner Utrecht University (Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Clinical Pharmacology) as part of the ATOME project in work package 7. The aim of this quick scan was to analyse the national legislation in the 12 ATOME target countries in order to detect aspects that are a potential barrier to the access and availability of opioids in the respective country. The quick scan is the basis for the selection of nine countries where a more detailed deep scan of legislations will be undertaken as the next step of the ATOME legislation review.

This report gives an overview of the ATOME Lawyers and National Counterparts Training Workshop in Bucharest (Romania) in February 2011. It includes a summary of the presentations and discussions during the workshop as well as the results of the pre-post-workshop evaluation.

Publications

This paper gives an overview of the ATOME Lawyers and National Counterparts Training Workshop in Bucharest (Romania) in February 2011. It includes a summary of the presentations and discussions during the workshop as well as the results of the pre-post-workshop evaluation.

Statements

This press release by the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) informs about the Morphine Manifesto that has been released in conjunction with World Cancer Day 2012 (4 February 2012), Pallium India, the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC), and the Pain & Policy Studies Group / WHO Collaborating Center at the University of Wisconsin. Signed by leading organizations and foundations from around the world, including cancer, pain management, and hospice & palliative care organizations, this Manifesto calls for an end to the unethical practice of promoting access to expensive opioid analgesics without also making available low cost immediate release oral morphine.

Posters

This poster provides a brief overview of the methodology that the International Observatory on End-of-Life-Care use to compile country profiles for each of the 12 ATOME target countries. It was presented by Tom Lynch at the 7th World Research Congress of the European Association for Palliative Care inTrondheim,Norway, June 2012. The country profiles incorporate mixed method designs to gather data that can be used as a resource for policy and service development through identifying barriers and opportunities in gaining access to controlled medicines within each country.

This poster provides a brief overview of the first of two Six-Country Workshops that were held inBucharest,Romaniain September 2011. It was presented by Tom Lynch at the 7th World Research Congress of the European Association for Palliative Care inTrondheim,Norway, June 2012. This poster describes the impact of the workshop on the experiences, beliefs, and potential concerns of participants in relation to controlled medicines for pain and symptom management.

This poster provides a brief overview of a study on legal and policy barriers to opioid availability in the ATOME countries. It was presented at the 7th World Research Congress of the European Association for Palliative Care in Trondheim, Norway, June 2012. A country assessment checklist - based on the WHO Guidelines “Ensuring balance in national policies oncontrolled substances - Guidance for availability and accessibilityfor controlled medicines” - was used to explore legal and policy barriers in the respective countries. Selected results are highlighted and methodological challenges are discussed.

This poster shows the results of a study in European countries using the "quick scan" method in order to identify legal and regulatory barriers in accessing opioid medicines. It was presented at the 7th World Research Congress of the European Association for Palliative Care in Trondheim, Norway, June 2012. The "quick scan" methodology is briefly outlined and key findings are displayed. Different types of barriers to opioid availability and accessibility are highlighted and examples for selected categories of barriers from the participating countries are provided.

Presentations

This presentation highlights differences in the availability and utilisation of opioid medicines across European countries, points out the major barriers to opioid availability and provides strategies and measures in order to assess and improve the national situation related to the availability of opioids.

This presentation of the ATOME project gives an overview on the aims and goals of the project, the work plan, the strategic impact of the project and the partners in the ATOME consortium. The achievements in the different work packages are highlighted and the forthcoming activities in the project are presented.